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Toolcraft believes customers, such as Airbus, can benefit from employing Simufact simulation technology.

Toolcraft, a German provider of high-end precision parts, has turned to Simufact Additivesimulation software solution to advance its metal 3D printing service.

The software tool has been leveraged as Toolcraft bids to do away with trial-and-error methods, and instead adopt a more reliable predictive production process.

Among other manufacturing technologies, in recent times Toolcraft has sought to pursue metal additive manufacturing machinery, and boasts an EOS M 290 system. To enhance its workflows and output further, it is to combine its metal 3D printing offering with a simulation software platform. Simufact Additive will allow Toolcraft staff to calculate distortions and residual stresses; survey the risk of job abortions; and reduce the number of physical attempts to successfully build a part.

Simufact Additive, developed to simulate for metal 3D printing processes, can provide the basis for suitable countermeasures before the first model is ever printed, thanks to its ability to predict distortions and stresses. It can also cover the entire additive manufacturing process chain, simulating the initial build, as well as post processing – this includes heat treatment for stress relief, cutting off the base plate, and the removal of support structures. The software platform is being used widely in the automotive and aerospace industries, and is perhaps what influenced Toolcraft, a manufacturing service for high-end precision parts, to adopt it too.

“We have tested Simufact Additive extensively and saw that the solution is going to help us in our daily practice,” said Christoph Huack, Managing Director of Toolcraft. “Our clients expect us to examine the feasibility of 3D printing orders in the early project phase – the simulation of the manufacturing process is the key to this. In the course of further optimisation of additively manufactured parts, simulation supplies us with fast and economical indications on how the printing process with different support structures, different orientations within the build space as well as changed machine parameters, behave.”

Michael Wohlmuth, Managing Director and CEO at Simufact added: “Simufact and Toolcraft will continue to collaborate very closely on best practices to optimise the metal additive manufacturing processes. With Toolcraft we found a partner who is an expert at the additive manufacturing process and shares our goal to dramatically improve the process.”

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